craven community collegecravencc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/student-moodle... · 2016-05-17 ·...

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©2015 Craven Community College

Student Moodle Guide

Craven Community College

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Contents Craven Community College ........................................................................................................... 1

Student Moodle Guide .................................................................................................................... 2

Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 2

Using Moodle at Craven ............................................................................................................. 3

Logging into Moodle .................................................................................................................. 3

Accessing Your Course............................................................................................................... 4

Changing your Password ............................................................................................................ 5

Editing your Profile..................................................................................................................... 7

Enabling Popups in Moodle ...................................................................................................... 11

Using the Calendar .................................................................................................................... 11

Navigating in Moodle ............................................................................................................... 12

Page Layout and Blocks............................................................................................................ 13

Accessing Course Resources and Activities ............................................................................. 15

Viewing your Grades ................................................................................................................ 16

Using Messages in Moodle ....................................................................................................... 17

Using Forums ............................................................................................................................ 22

Submitting Assignments ........................................................................................................... 24

Online Text ........................................................................................................................... 24

File Submissions ................................................................................................................... 24

Testing in Moodle ......................................................................................................................... 24

Testing Tips .............................................................................................................................. 24

Student Moodle Guide

Introduction In this guide you will be introduced to the basics of using Moodle as part of your coursework.

When writing this manual, we assume that you have basic knowledge of using a computer

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including input devices like a mouse and keyboard. In addition, it is assumed that you are

familiar with your web browser and navigating between pages on the internet.

Using Moodle at Craven Moodle is one of many Learning Management Systems (LMS). Moodle runs as an interactive website

with features and activities designed to engage learners and promote collaborative, student-centered

learning.

Logging into Moodle Use the procedure below to log into and access your Moodle course(s). Your username in

Moodle is your firstname.lastname. For example, the username for Joe Smith would be

joe.smith. Your initial password is your birthdate in the following format: MMDDYYYY It

should not include spaces or slashes. For example, if your birthday is October 1, 1970 then your

password would be 10011970. The first time you login, you will be prompted to change your

password. Your new password must be at least 8 characters, one uppercase letter, one lower

case letter, one number, and contain one non-alpha numeric symbol.

1. Open your web browser. It is recommended that you use either Firefox or Google

Chrome to access Moodle. 2. Type http://moodle.cravencc.edu in the address bar and hit enter

3. Type your user name and password in the login block and click the Login button.

http://moodle.cravencc.edu/

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Accessing Your Course After you login, to access your courses, scroll down to the Navigation Block on the left side of

the screen. Under Navigation, click on My home. Your available courses will be displayed.

Click on the course name you wish to enter.

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. You are now viewing the course homepage:

Changing your Password When you login to Moodle for the first time, you will be required to change your password.

To change your password:

1. Click on your name listed in the upper right area of the screen:

2. Place cursor over Preferences, then select Change password.

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3. You should see the Change password box. Please note that anytime you change your

password, it must meet the following requirements: The password must have at least 8

characters, at least 1 digit(s), at least 1 lower case letter(s), at least 1 upper case

letter(s), at least 1 non-alphanumeric character(s)

4. After you change your password, click save changes. Please note that a password change is required the first time you log on to Moodle.

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Editing your Profile Now that you are logged into Moodle we would advise that you edit your profile. Editing your

profile will allow you to become familiar with the options available to you in order to

personalize your environment.

To edit your profile:

1. Click on your name in the top right corner of the screen.

2. Place cursor over Preferences, then select Edit profile

3. You will now see the Edit profile page

4. Although you may alter many of the settings, most should be left as they are in order

to ensure that Moodle functions for you at its best.

Field Setting

First name Do not change your name, as this is your

legal name in the course.

Surname Do not change your last name, as this is

your legal last name in the course

Email address This is populated automatically and must

not be changed. Your school issued

Gmail account is your official email for

all courses. This is the account your

instructors will use to communicate with

you.

Email Display This should be set to “Allow only other

course members to see my email address”

Email Digest Type You should change this to Subjects to

ensure that you receive your course email

in a condensed format

Forum auto-subscribe In Moodle, whenever anyone posts to a

forum, users in that course will receive an

email with the post. Setting this to “Yes:

When I post, subscribe me to that forum”

will automatically subscribe you to that

forum.

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5. In Moodle you have the option of uploading a picture. This picture will show in the

discussion forums and in the gradebook. When choosing your profile picture please

keep in mind that it will be seen by everyone in the course and should be appropriate.

The Office of Distance Learning reserves the right to remove any pictures that are

deemed to be offensive in any manner.

To upload a profile picture, you can either drag a photo from your computer to the

screen or you can click the Add command:

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If you use the Add command, follow the steps below to add a profile picture:

Click the Add Icon, indicated by the red arrow in the user picture box below.

You will see the file picker dialog box:

Select where you would like to upload a photo from. Normally you will select the

Upload a file command on the left.

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You will see a new screen appear. Click Choose File from your computer.

After you have selected the file you wish to upload, click upload this file.

You should now see the file displayed in the User picture box. If you are finished

updating your profile, scroll down and click the Upload this file c

ommand.

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Enabling Popups in Moodle In order to take some tests and to make full use of the Moodle Messaging system, you should

enable popups for the Craven Moodle site. Most browsers will have an automatic popup blocker,

and there may be additional ones built into add-ons like Google or Yahoo toolbars. You may

need to enable popups in more than one place to ensure you receive your messages instantly. It is

recommended that you use either Firefox or Google Chrome to access Moodle. Instructions are

given below on how to turn off your pop up blocker in these browsers. You may need to look

around to locate the popup controls for other browsers or add-ins, though the process should be

similar.

How to turn off the pop up blocker:

1. How to turn off the pop up blocker in Firefox version 20

2. How to turn off the pop up blocker in Google Chrome

Using the Calendar The Moodle calendar is a very useful feature. The calendar is customized for each student. When

you are on the main Moodle page, the calendar will contain notices about all of your different

classes. Then once you go into a particular class, you will only see information about that one

course. You should use the calendar to stay up to date with your assignments and tests. Please

note that forum posting deadlines are not visible on the calendar. You will need to check

the course content to find forum posting deadlines if your instructor uses the forums to

submit your work.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/pop-blocker-settings-exceptions-troubleshooting

http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95472

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Navigating in Moodle

Once you are in your Moodle course, you can use your browser’s navigation buttons (the

forward and backward arrows); but you may get confused about where you are in the course. A

better way would be to use the Breadcrumb Trail built into Moodle.

The collapsible breadcrumb trail shows the pages you have passed through to get to your current

location. They are shown in the top left corner of the page and clicking on them will take you to

that point in the course.

The image above shows that the page you are on at the moment is the 2015spENG-231-NW1.

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Page Layout and Blocks The course page you see as a student has standard Blocks on both sides of the screen. The image

below highlights some of the features. Please note that your course layout may vary

according to the settings set by your instructor in each particular course. The diagram

below highlights the most helpful and common areas you will need in your course.

ADMINISTRATION: contains the course

grades and your profile

settings.

Main Course Content: This area

contains your course content,

topics, and assignments.

To view a resource,

click on the link.

Calendar: contains

important

course and

semester dates.

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Student Help Files: contains helpful

tutorials to help you

to navigate the

Moodle classroom.

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Accessing Course Resources and Activities To access your course resources and activities, navigate to the main course page. Click on the

content links which are located in the middle of the page. Clicking on these links will take you

directly to the activity or resources.

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Viewing your Grades

In Moodle, students can view their grades at any time. Click on the Grades link in the

ADMINISTRATION block. You can find the ADMINISTRATION block on the left side of

the page.

Your gradebook will look similar to the following. You can click on the grade item to be taken

back to the original assignment. You will find feedback from your instructor in the Feedback

column. Please note that the picture below is of an empty gradebook. As you progress through a

course and earn grades you will see your grades listed, as well as instructor feedback.

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Using Messages in Moodle

Messages in Moodle work like a cross between an instant messenger and an email tool. If the

recipient of your message is currently logged into Moodle, messages act like an “instant

messenger.” This lets you communicate in real time. If your recipient is NOT currently logged

into Moodle, the message is sent as an email.

1. To send a message, you should click on your name in the top right corner:

2. Click on the Messages link.

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3. The Messages screen will be displayed. On this screen you will see your contacts and

you can search for people and messages.

Message navigation: clicking this

pull down menu, displays

messages by your contacts. You

can also view recent conversations

and recent notifications.

Advanced: clicking the advanced

command, will display a menu that allows

you to search for a person or to search

messages. You can search via blocked

users or search only messages which you

sent or search for messages from all users.

You can use the Advanced command to send a message to a specific user.

1. Click on the Advanced command.

2. You will then see the screen below:

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3. Type the name you wish to search for. After you find the name, click on the name.

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4. You will now see a messaging window screen. Type the message you wish to send to the

person. After you type the message, click the send message button. The message you sent

to the person will be displayed on screen:

You may wish to add the contact to your messaging contact list in order to quickly message the

person, without doing a search. To add the person, click on the add contact link underneath the

person you just messaged:

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You will now see the person listed as a contact on the left hand side of the screen:

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Using Forums

Discussion boards in Moodle are called Forums. You can use forums to discuss topics selected

by your instructor.

Posting to a Forum:

1. To post to a forum click on the link for the specific forum. You can tell it is a forum by

the icon to the left of the forum name. Please note that these may or may not have the

word forum in the name of the specific forum.

2. After you click on the forum, you will see the forum assignment above the forum:

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3. After you read the instructions of the forum assignment, click on the Add a new

discussion topic button

4. A section will appear below the Add a new discussion topic button. Begin typing your

response. Notice that you must have a discussion subject and a message:

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5. After you have typed your response, click the Post to forum button. Once you have

submitted your post you will see a page reminding you that you have time to edit the post

before it is emailed to others if they have requested to receive emails for each post. Click

the Continue link.

Submitting Assignments

Assignment Types

There are 2 types of assignment types on Moodle:

Online text In this assignment type, you do not upload files.

File submissions In this type of assignment, you will upload one or more files to fulfill the requirement..

Testing in Moodle

Testing Tips

Testing in Moodle is very user friendly and most students like it. Moodle tests are computer

graded which allow a student to receive his or her grade immediately in most cases. However,

there are a few very important things you need to know before taking your first test in Moodle.

When your instructor is ready for you to take a test, typically a link will appear. Be sure you’ve

read any information provided by your instructor as to when you should take the test. Never

enter a test unless you are prepared to take it.

1. It is important to plan the time you will take the test. Once you start a test there is no

“turning back.” You should take your test at a time when you will have few distractions.

2. Occasionally your instructor may password a test. If you are asked for a password when

trying to enter a test, you will need to obtain the password from the instructor. Be very

careful of capitalization when keying passwords.

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3. Your test may be timed. If so, you will see a timer appear at the top left of the screen

when you enter your test. This timer will count down the time you have left to complete

your test. In Moodle your test will kick you out when your time limit is up so make sure

to finish your test and submit it PRIOR to the time running out.

4. It is a good idea to save your answers frequently. You can click the Save button at any

time to save your answers. You may still change these answers up until the time you

submit them.

5. When you have answered all questions, scroll down to the bottom and click the Submit

All and Finish button.

6. Most of your test questions are graded as soon as you click Submit. Your instructor

decides how much information you will see next. You may only see your score or you

may see each question and the correct answer. For each question, note how many points

you were awarded.

7. Your score will appear in the gray box at the top of the page.

8. You may miss a fill-in-the-blank question due to spelling. If so, contact your instructor.

They may or may not give you credit for the question.

9. If your test included essay or short answer questions, those must be graded individually

by your instructor. You are not awarded any points for those questions until the instructor

has graded them.

10. To come back later and review your tests, simply click on the name of the test from your

course page and then click on your grade. You can also review your quiz attempt by

clicking on the quiz name in the grade book.

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